In 1936, the winter gods did not love anyone who lived at the refuge. For Ken Hviding, just five years after he had moved to the refuge, he had the worst winter he could remember. They had 36 inches of snow, which, at that time was a lot, and below freezing temperatures. "We didn't have the technology that we have today. We didn't have the snowplows that we have today." People all around helped one another during this bad winter. "Our community was more like a family than neighbors. Everyone helped everyone out. It was a 'family community.' The 2000 areas that encompassed the refuge, where all covered in snow. More snow than we had ever seen." Ken stated, as he rocked back and forth on his chair. Ken's farm, which consisted of 80 acres, was all covered in snow, and all the entrances were blocked.

The roads were all blocked. It was very hard because people couldn't get around. "All the roads would have been plowed nowadays, but back then it was not good. The temperature was cold. It had to have been 30 or 40 degrees below zero." During this winter, Ken and his sister were not able to walk to school, which they did everyday. Their father took the kids to school by horse sleds, which contained two horses. Also, Ken's family had a neighbor that had a German Shepherd that would take them by dog sled, a mile and a half to school. Usually, Ken and his family would walk to school on skies, but that winter; they were not able to do that.